Healthcare practices have shown the tremendous value of three-dimensional imaging, mainly as a diagnostic tool in the Radiology Department. Other areas of care, including the operating room, intensive care departments and emergency departments, rely on two-dimensional imaging (fluoroscopy, ultrasound, 2-D mobile X-ray) as the primary means of diagnosis and therapeutic guidance. This is mainly due to the cost, size, and expertise required to operate traditional three-dimensional devices. Moreover, radiologic quality CT scanners have been designed to maximize image quality at the expense of mobility. Truly practical and mobile imaging solutions for “non-radiology departments” capable of performing both 2D and 3D imaging in the same device have yet to be developed. Previous attempts simply do not address the true need, which is to maintain a sizable volume while meeting a level of expected image quality. In the past, there have been two types of devices proposed to address this need. One type of device uses a mobile C-arm and spins it around the anatomy, such as the SIREMOBILE ISO-C3D imaging system from Siemens AG. These C-arm based attempts have a limited field of view, are procedurally cumbersome and have an inherent limit to the image quality.
Others have attempted to make a fixed-bore CT mobile, such as the device described in Butler W. E. et al, A Mobile CT Scanner with Intraoperative and ICU Application, 1998. (http://neurosurgery.mgh.harvard.edu/mobileCT.htm). However, these so-called “mobile CT scanners” are characterized by the elevated dosing level of a traditional fixed CT scanner, they are difficult to maneuver, and they are incapable of performing 2D imaging when that is all that is needed.
In general, the fluoroscopic C-arm attempts meet the criteria of mobility and flexibility, but fall short on image quality and image volume. The “mobile CT scanner” attempts meet the criteria of image volume and quality, but fail to address the practical issues of usability and cost. Additionally, state of the art CT scanners are incapable of translating and tilting in the same fashion of mobile fluoroscopy systems.
A truly mobile and practical solution for ‘non-radiology department’ 3-D imaging also capable of performing 2D imaging does not yet exist. This is mainly due to the fact that current tomographic scanners are not mobile in a practical manner. The inability to move a CT scanner with the same degrees of freedom of mobile C-arms has hindered the acceptance and use of mobile three-dimensional imaging. This has limited the value of three-dimensional computed tomographic imaging to areas mainly as a diagnostic tool in the Radiology Department.
There is a need for a mobile CT scanner for use in the operating room, intensive care unit, emergency room and other parts of the hospital, in ambulatory surgery centers, physician offices, and the military battlefield, which is truly mobile, can translate and tilt in multiple degrees-of-freedom, and is capable of performing both 2D and 3D x-ray imaging.